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Family Of Beaten Giants Fan Expresses Gratitude For Arrest

Father David Stow, Sisters Bonnie Stow and Erin Collins join mother Ann Stow (far right) at a news conference to thank police for their work in locating a suspect in the beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow. (CBS)

Giants Central

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) — The family of beaten San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow said Monday that they knew police in Los Angeles would catch someone in the brutal attack, and praised both their work and the way they dealt with the family.

“It was a very emotional day yesterday,” added mother Ann Stow, as the family gathered to speak with reporters outside San Francisco General Hospital where her son remained in critical but stable condition.

She said her heart “just dropped” when she was told by a police detective that a man was in custody for her son’s attack.

Family members looked relieved but still shaken Monday by the nearly two-month ordeal of caring for the badly injured father of two and awaiting news that his attackers had been found.

Giovanni Ramirez, 31 of Los Angeles, was arrested during a raid by detectives and SWAT team members at an East Hollywood apartment building. He was booked Sunday night for assault with a deadly weapon and was being held on $1 million bail.

Police said Ramirez had become familiar to many in Los Angeles as “Suspect 1″ from flyers and billboards. They described the man as having a bald head, goatee, and tattoos on his neck.

Ramirez is believed to be one of the two men wearing Dodger jerseys who attacked Stow in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium after the Giants-Dodgers season opener on March 31, police said.

Two other suspects remained at large: The second man who took part in the beating and a woman who drove the two men from the stadium, according to police.

Collins, who was wearing an LAPD baseball cap, said her family had “deep gratitude” to police for Ramirez’s arrest and added, “we are very hopeful” for additional arrests in the case.

Stow, a 42-year-old paramedic from Santa Cruz, was transferred to San Francisco General last week after initially being treated at Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, where doctors put him in a medically induced coma to help prevent seizures.

Doctors recently reported that Stow has been able to open his eyes, but a hospital spokeswoman and family members all said Monday that there were no immediate changes to report in his condition.

“Bryan has a long road ahead of him. We continue to talk to him and play him music,” Collins told reporters. “No changes, but that’s a good thing for him.”

The family also expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of support they had received from the public as a result of media attention to the case.

“We were blown away with the scope of attention that Bryan’s gotten,” Ann Stow explained. “It’s not just national, it’s worldwide.”